Many data applications involve communications of a plurality of data streams. Virtual meetings that include audio and video communications, by way of example, include communication of audio data streams, video data streams, and other data streams. Within this exemplary application, some conferences simultaneously link multiple attendee conference rooms that communicate data streams such as video, audio, applications, and the like. Each location may be communicating data streams from multiple cameras, microphones, and other sources to all of the other locations. The receiving location receives all of the streams from all of the other locations. In some virtual meetings the receiving attendee conference room may choose which received streams to display video and play audio from. Multiple streams may be displayed so that the receiving conference room can see and hear multiple of the other conference rooms.
When a large number of conference rooms are participating, and each generating a large number of data streams, the conference can become muddled and disorganized. For example, if ten attendees each have four cameras, then each attendee will receive thirty-six video streams. Displaying all of these streams, and further viewing them in a meaningful way, can be difficult and even impractical.
In a prior art meeting in one location with many attendees, one speaker at one location may moderate the meeting, and have other attendees request permission to speak. In this manner, only one speaker at a time presents, and all conference attendees can focus on that speaker. While this is known in prior art meetings and conferences where all attendees are present in a single location, coordinating this in a multi-conference room virtual meeting has proven difficult.
Unresolved problems in the art therefore remain.